Have you ever thought about doing a spell for love? Right now, with the Moon growing to full, the conditions are perfect to do a spell to bring love into your life.

Love spells can be simple – wishes, intentions, desires. Sometimes, all you need to do to bring love into your life using a spell is to set your intentions and keep your energy positive. Other times, though, you might feel like you need a bit more power behind your love spell, in order to bring a lasting romantic love to you.

Spells are all about using different elements to help to increase the power of your intention and attraction. A love spell should be specific enough to bring you the partner of your dreams, but open enough to allow the Universe to bring you the best partner—and the best partner might not be the one you are focused on.

My advice when performing a love spell is to avoid specifying a particular person; focus instead on the characteristics and attributes your perfect partner would have.

When creating your love spell, you will need the following items:

a red pen
nice stationary paper
rose essential oil or rose water to annoint your candle
a red or pink candle—or both.(red for romantic love, pink for more of a playful, innocent type of love)
matches (to light the candle)
cherry, strawberry, or honey incense

Do this spell to find love when the moon is going from new to full, growing bigger or waxing. This phase helps to GROW things in your life.

Sit down with an open heart and pure intention to create your spell to bring love into your life. Use your red pen to make a list of the characteristics you want your perfect partner to have. As I mentioned before, it’s best NOT to focus on a particular person and let the Universe use the energy of your love spell to bring the best partner for you, to you.

I would start the love spell out with something like:

My dearest Universe, I ask of thee, to bring me love, so mote it be.I am ready for you to bring my romantic life partner, my soul mate, my twin flame to me.I trust that you will guide me in my choicesbringing me the best personthe one that is meant for me. I am so grateful to you for all the love you bring into my life, and I hope that you will bring my one true love to me soon. My perfect partner would be…
Thank you, thank you, thank you.

(Think about what you want from a partner and make a list, something like the following.)

My perfect soul mate would be:

kind
funny
romantic without having to be reminded
into foreign films
responsible
financially stable
well-educated
a bit of a book nerd
loves music
kinky but not over the top
good in bed
thoughtful
responsive
cute
into magic
faithful
adventurous
well-endowed
healthy/takes care of physique
attentive
likes to cuddle
likes children/wants children/doesn’t want children (whichever fits for you)
outdoorsy
artistic
a handy man…

Write your list including characteristics that are important to you. And really, be thorough. The more specific you are about what you want, the easier it is for the Universe to bring that person to you!

Take your candle(s) and poke three holes in each one. Drop just a couple of drops of the rose oil or rose water onto the candle, and rub it in clockwise, all the time, thinking about meeting your perfect partner or mentally repeating your spell (the words above can be modified to fit your situation).

Light the candles (make sure they are in a safe place that you can allow them to burn out naturally). Leave them to burn the whole day, if possible. If you really want to get the energy flowing, get a candle that is meant to burn for three days and use it in your ritual.

Light the incense, and keep it near your candle. If possible, keep the incense burning for as often as you safely can for three days.

PLEASE BE CAREFUL ABOUT WHERE YOU PUT YOUR CANDLES and incense. DO NOT LET THEM BURN WITHOUT SUPERVISION. DON’T POUR OIL OVER YOUR CANDLE AFTER IT IS LIT. Extinguish, when you need, by snuffing the candle rather than blowing it out.

During the three days that your spell is running, try to make a note of all of the love that is in your life. Write about it in your gratitude journal – start a gratitude journal if you don’t have one.

Also, remember to do only one spell per moon cycle. During this moon cycle, from today to the next full moon, ONLY focus on this love spell. If it is really something that you would like to focus on for multiple moon cycles, go ahead and repeat this ritual every month right as the moon is turning full.

You can also call in different goddesses, if you’d like. Of course, Venus is THE go-to goddess to call on to bring love into your life! Venus’ day of the week is Friday, and you should offer her roses on your altar space.

Or, if you prefer to work with angels, you can work with Archangel Chamuel to help you to bring a new love into your life.

Remember, be positive that your spell will work—in DIVINE TIMING. It might take a few moon cycles for your love spell to work. Don’t give up and don’t settle for someone who doesn’t fit your wishlist. When you trust that the Universe is going to bring you a wonderful partner, you don’t have to take someone who just doesn’t do it for you. Pass on anyone who you don’t vibe with, but make sure that you aren’t so focused on one person that you miss out on a gem sent directly to you from the Universe.

I hope that this love spell works for you! If you use it and it brings love into your life, please let me know!

I did this spell before I met my hubby—more than 20 years ago! For me, it was quite effective!

How do you grow and develop your spiritual based business? What are some tips for making more money as a professional intuitive, psychic, astrologer, tarot reader, crystal healer or medium? Here are ideas for what you can do to flourish in the spiritual industry both locally and online!

If you have hit the professional level (or are considering it) then I believe that you’re probably gifted at what you are doing. Spirit is calling you to dream big and fulfill your destiny!

Not only do you hear the inner calling, but you have the testimonials to prove you were born to be a psychic, intuitive, or spiritual professional. You’re not delusional or big-headed in any way, but you know that you rock at giving readings.

It is possible that you have even already seen some success in your spiritual based business. Even so, you want more; you’re at the point that you’re ready to ramp it up a notch, grow, and develop.

Below I have compiled a list of 12 ways you can grow and develop your spiritual based business. Give them a read—then give them a try!

TIP ONE: INVEST IN YOUR BUSINESS

As a general rule, the more money you invest in your spiritual based business, the quicker it will grow. Unfortunately, however, it is very common for spiritual professionals to do everything they can in their power not to invest.

Withholding money from your business is a sabotaging act which deserves to be dealt with first. Not investing in your business will not only harm your growth but it also sends out the wrong message.

Firstly, you need to make investments for things such as newsletters and websites. I believe these two things are essential for running a successful business in 2019. If you do not have these things, you’ll end up being one of those readers who takes 30 years to build their company while you secretly survive off of income from your husband/partner/parents. If you want to rip right down the time it’ll take you to make a living giving readings then put your hand in your pocket.

Secondly, not investing in your business sends the wrong message not just to clients and yourself, but also the Universe. What you’re basically saying is, “I don’t want this enough to pay the monthly newsletter fee,” or “I don’t believe my business is like other businesses,” or “I don’t think my business is going to make it.” The energy that your unwillingness to invest gives off is very powerful and can set the tone for the rest of your business. If you feel like your dreams are worth it, then do what it takes to make them a reality.

Investments in your business need not take the moon and the earth. You can sign up for a ‘drag and drop’ website host company such as SquareSpace and create your own site in minutes. Mail Chimp is free for the first two thousand subscribers. There are tonnes of free tutorials online for how to create using these tools yourself for the fraction of the cost of a developer. There are no excuses!

TIP TWO: ADVERTISE IN MORE THAN ONE PLACE

When I meet readers and spiritual professionals who have trouble selling their services, they are usually stuck in the trap of only advertising their services in one place, i.e. Instagram.

While there is nothing wrong with Instagram or any of the other places you advertise your services, using only one marketing medium will impact your efforts. Statistically, most people have to be exposed to your business seven times before they will consider buying. You want to make sure your business is all up in the faces of everyone you are targeting.

If you find you’re marketing too much online, then approach some local shops or services places where you can hang your fliers. If you’re only doing face to face events, take up blogging. Never restrict your marketing to only one place if you dream of growing and developing your spiritual based company.

TIP THREE: UTILISE YOUR REVIEWS

You will get potential clients who are blindly interested in your work but who need some social proof thrown their way. Your reviews are your evidence that your products and services are the bomb, so it makes sense that you should be using them.

Plaster your reviews everywhere. Stick them on your site, on your social media, and all over the place. Screenshot them and display them. Your reviews will help your potential customers go from sitting on the fence to filling out your intake form.

TIP FOUR: UTILISE THOSE FREEBIES

How many times have you performed free readings for reviews but the review or feedback is now long gone into cyberspace? Don’t let that happen. If you have done a reading in exchange for a review, make sure that review is being shared on your website.

TIP FIVE: DON’T START FROM SCRATCH EVERYDAY

Again, this point comes back to the whole newsletter thing. I know I keep banging on about newsletters but hear me out.

Imagine your clients are apples. You’re in a nice open field, plodding along, picking them up (giving them readings). Once you have finished looking at them, you put them back down and walk away.

Now, imagine that someone comes along and gives you a basket. The person says, “Hey, instead of just looking at these apples, you can collect them! You can have never-ending access to these apples, and the more you collect, the more you have! Statistically, too, every one of these apples is worth $1! And these apples will know who you are so will always want to be picked up by you not another apple picker”! Are you going to say no to the basket?

A newsletter is just like a basket. Essentially, you can collect the email addresses of your clients/potential customers and have access to them forever. No matter what social media does with its algorithm, not matter which blogging platforms fold, no matter if your entire business gets eaten by a t-rex, you can be back up and profitable in minutes because you have access to your customer database (their email addresses).

Being in your seeker’s mailboxes every week has advantages. If they are in crisis and need a quick reading, they’re going to think of you first because you’re always showing up. Staying in contact is how you get repeat clients instead of trying to build your business every day from the ground up.

TIP SIX: SPRUCE UP YOUR SALES PAGE

Usually, if you have regular contact with previous clients but you still don’t understand why your business isn’t growing the answer may be in your sales page.

Your sales page should be about the client, not about you. It should talk to your ideal client like they are someone you know personally. You should highlight the problems they are having and then explain how your services fix those issues otherwise there is no urgency or sensitivity connected to your offer. No feelings mean they’re not going to click ‘buy.’

Getting some type of professional help with your sales page is a worthy investment. If you have the money, hire a copywriter. If not, you can always post into business development Facebook groups and ask for opinions on your sales page.

TIP SEVEN: PROVIDE PEOPLE WITH WHAT THEY WANT

This sounds extreme, but the number one reason why your spiritual based business might not be growing is because you are not providing your potential clients with something which they would actually like to buy.

I see it all of the time. Spiritual based professionals think they know what their clients want, but they have no idea. They race out and spend tonnes of money, time, and energy developing e-books on subjects which interest them not their actual clients.

You have to be realistic with yourself and ask yourself if there is there a market for what you are trying to sell? Do people even want to buy what you have? Is it even a term which is highly searched for on Google, Facebook, or other platforms? If it is, congratulations it will grow your business! If not, then get back to the drawing board.

TIP EIGHT: DO NOT SUBCONSCIOUSLY REPEL BUSINESS

You have to be very, very honest with yourself here. Is there a part of you which feels like hiding? Do you feel weird about making sales? Do you not like the attention you get when you promote your business? Are you used to playing small?

If these above things apply to you, then you have to fix them. There is an energy you are putting out there by feeling this way which basically says, “Go away!” to any potential client. You are putting up a cosmic block if deep down you’re telling the world you don’t want this.

You need to get used to putting yourself out there and being seen. Also, start to look at your relationship with money and your work and assess where those beliefs stem from. Do you believe that money is hard to come by? Do you think you’re taking advantage of your clients? Are you scared that your readings aren’t good enough? It is important you get real and get to the root of your problems.

TIP NINE: AVOID GIVING TOO MUCH CHOICE

UGH, this is a common mistake I see tarot readers make. It’s one thing to give potential clients different choice of medium (face-to-face or email for example), but it is another thing to give them too much choice in general.

Having too much variety can freeze people into inaction. Have you ever walked to the candy aisle in Asda/Walmart and just stopped? You spend ages in that aisle because you don’t know which sweeties you want for movie night? There’s just too much to choose from! Well, that’s what you’re doing to your clients when you list 400 types of tarot spreads.

Given the choice of a Mars Bar or Milky Way, you can quickly make a decision; it’s either one or the other. That’s what your readings and magic work should be like; your clients should be able to see what is right for them instead of having to weigh up the pros and cons of too many options.

If you want to grow and develop your spiritual based business, you have to niche down your choices and services. Your offerings should all make sense together, and not include so much variety that your potential client struggles to pick one type of reading or one of the other 20.

The same rules actually apply to things like e-books and courses. If you have too many e-books to select from, your potential readers will not know which ones to choose.

TIP TEN: DIVERSIFY YOUR INCOME

Having lots of things in the same format is not the same as having things in different formats. For example, having hundreds of types of astrology readings on your site is not a good idea. Supplying an astrology phone reading, email reading, face-to-face intensive, e-books, and courses is a good idea.

True business development comes when you diversify your income. The only way to make any real, proper money as a spiritual based professional is to sell multiple things. The average millionaire has seven sources of income, which is probably why they are making so much money! If you want to get serious about making moolah, you must diversify.

I didn’t begin to see any proper income in my business until I sold more than one thing. Back when I was only advertising face-to-face readings, I was super poor. Then, I started selling email readings, then I became not so poor. Now, I perform face-to-face readings, sell courses, e-books, etc. and I am much better off than I was back when I was only selling readings.

So, that’s my top tips for ways you can grow and develop your spiritual business. And remember its a race, not a sprint! Your business will grow each and every day if you’re committed to achieving results.

AUTHOR BIO

Lisa Boswell is an award-winning divination teacher who currently resides in Scotland. Through her websites www.divinationandfortunetelling.com and www.readlenormand.com she teaches both experienced and would-be readers how they can predict the future of their lives and relationships using tarot and Lenormand cards. Born into a Romany Gypsy family of fortune tellers, Lisa has had an active interest in the occult from a young age. She specialises in teaching predictive divination and fortune-telling.

I have to admit that I’m really disappointed about Doreen Virtue’s recent blog post (A-Z List of New Age Practices To Avoid), calling everything—up to and including rainbow sparkly unicorns and statues—demonic work of the devil, and anyone who was working with angels, Reiki, drums, shamanism, yoga, MINDFULNESS… you name it, all evil according to Doreen.

Oh. My. Gods.

The weird thing is that her words in that blog post go against almost everything she taught in her classes, at least what I got from them. Parts of her list don’t even make sense, really. I mean, has Doreen ever stepped foot in a church? She says statues are evil and false idols, but every Catholic church I’ve been in in my whole life is filled with statues of Jesus, Mary, and other figures in the Christian tradition. Are we to think that churches are evil now, too?

Her teachings before she was baptized and born again in 2017 were all about acceptance, non-judgment, learning to trust your own intuition, being kind but assertive, connecting with nature. Doreen Virtue didn’t stop at teaching people how to work with her cards or respect deities from other religions, she also delved into her version of keeping yourself and your environment healthier and creating a life that was more in line with your own happiness.

Personally, I enjoyed reading her books and learning about different ways of connecting with my intuition and angels with the practices she taught. What I learned by following some of what she taught and combining it with other rituals and details I learned from other sources took my spirituality to the next level. My own craft and connection with Spirit grew from my work, and I was also led to other teachers, topics, and rituals through learning about angels, ascended masters, goddesses, etc.

I won’t say that I bought everything she sold hook, line, and sinker, though. I never went vegan or believed in chem-trails. She was one of many teachers whose work I used to carve out my own spiritual path. I found Doreen’s teachings to be broad enough to allow many people to recognize and build their spiritual gifts and practices. Her work helped me take my own to the next level.

And the people I met through her community are some of the absolute best people I’ve ever had the pleasure to know! The Light Workers, Earth Angels, Tarot Readers, etc that I met were, as a whole, empathic, understanding, generous (sometimes to a fault), sensitive, forgiving, fascinating people. They’re fun and, because they’re high-vibe people, they are often kinder than most of the people I’ve met through other spaces.

So I don’t get how the people whom I met and formed bonds through Doreen Virtue’s work are demonic. Empathy, kindness, tolerance, curiosity, DIVERSITY are evil and we must change our ways immediately or face eternal damnation? Sorry. I’m not buying that.

Call me a sinner then. This girl ain’t giving up her Reiki, tarot, crystals, drum circles, magical friends, yoga, nature, and so many other things I consider sacred and fascinating because Doreen Virtue says they are from the devil. And I certainly don’t see my friends, colleagues, and peers who work with energy, self-help, and those who believe in something other than Christianity as being possessed by demons or in contact with evil entities. The people who I’ve gotten to know through the Angel Community aren’t, in my opinion, possessed by demons like Doreen Virtue asserts. They seem quite the opposite to me.

And that leads me to the reasons I am extremely disappointed about Doreen Virtue’s blog post:

1) The people I mentioned above. Some are doubting their connection to Spirit now. If Doreen was sincere at first, or if she was just in it for the money or never believed in it at all, or if she thinks it’s all satanic and demonic, what does that make them? What does that make me? What does that make their work? What does it say about mine? (I’ve removed my association with her work from my site in most places. If you find mention of it on my site, please tell me which page so I can update it.)

As I mentioned above, Light Workers—myself included—are a sensitive bunch, so having one of the most popular teachers in the community who taught us some of the methods we use to connect with Spirit or different entities call the work we do out as evil and negative causes a gut reaction. Either you think, “Wow, she’s lost her marbles,” like me and go on with life or you think, “Have I been imagining this all along? Are those entities I’ve been interacting with actually evil?”

Some people who found such comfort in their spirituality that was sometimes expanded by Doreen Virtue’s work are once again insecure and questioning what’s going on in their worlds, what they are sensing, the messages they are getting.

The loss of trust one might place in her own intuition is a great loss to me. We need MORE people honoring their own intuition and thoughts and being confident in themselves and a little focused on their own happiness, not less. We need to keep moving forward with this connection with the positive and good, not less. We don’t need to set ourselves back 50 years in the spiritual community.

2) Another thing we have to discuss is religious diversity. Not everyone is a Christian. There are other religions, other gods and deities, other belief systems in the world that should be respected and it’s good to learn about other gods and goddesses from other cultures and religions, too. Her new stance is anti-magic, anti-witch/Earth-based religion/pagan, anti-indiginous population, and xenophobic.

Did we learn nothing from the Inquisitions or from the Witch Hunts and trials? Are we going back to the time when religious freedom was banned and those who went against the teachings of the Church were shamed, outcast, tortured, and murdered?

Going from tolerance, acceptance, bringing people together and broadening their minds and knowledge bases to saying that everything that YOU don’t believe in is demonic or satanic is just disturbing, especially in today’s global environment. The world is a smaller place nowadays, and it’s better to learn about and respect people with other religious beliefs and rituals instead of condemning them. Understanding one another and having open conversations about what we believe in is how we make the world a better place. We need more tolerance, not less.

People need to be able to connect with a more earth-based religion if that’s what floats their boats. We need to be able to reconnect ties that were long ago cut for fear of being found out as a witch. We should be able to practice their own form of religion and worship our own gods.

Magic can’t go underground again. We, as a community, can’t let it.

3) Doreen Virtue is speaking from a place of fear, not love. Her whole post dripped guilt, shame, judgment, and fear. She’s looking to make people upset with her “bad, bad, bad” babble. She’s certainly not embodying the teachings of Jesus Christ as I know them. She needs to ask herself WWJD and let our own gods judge us when our time comes. Maybe she, herself, has something to be scared of. I don’t feel like I do.

So, while I do wholeheartedly think that Doreen’s spiritual path is her own, I wish she’d follow the advice she might have given before she was born again, the advice I think that Jesus, whose name she brought up over and over, would give: Promote what you love instead of bashing what you don’t. Respect everyone in your space, even if they have different beliefs. Love thy neighbor.

If Doreen doesn’t want to get a Reiki session or practice mindfulness or meditate, that’s her business, but she needs to quit calling anything SHE doesn’t believe in bad, especially people of other religions and backgrounds.

I’ve been reading a lot of consciousness bending related books lately. It’s a topic that I adore—seeing how malleable the fabric of reality is and seeing how far I might be able to bend my abilities (and improve my life) based on mind-tricks, magic, and believing that I can.

I’m open to exploring, experimenting, and noting what is miraculous and what is cool and going on from there. I mean, I really don’t have anything better to do with my spare time, right? As long as I’m not hurting or manipulating anyone—perhaps changing what happens for and around the people in my life, in relation to my life—always for the best, or that’s my intention, anyway.

I’ve been quite successful in the past with manifesting this and that, including a pure-bred beagle puppy (who taught me to watch out what I wished for), 12 hundred bucks, and some other more personal signs from the Universe.

Over the Christmas holiday, I was reading Breaking The Habit Of Being Yourself, written by Joe Dispenza and I was also listening to his audiobook, Becoming Supernatural, in tandem with reading the book. Basically, his books teach about shifting your reality and connecting yourself to Source energy in order to create miracles in your life by connecting with the subconscious and harnessing the power of intention, possibility, and now. It’s all good stuff.

I had the perfect opportunity to test out some of the theories that I was learning because my in-laws bought a ping pong table and playing ping pong was a central part of what we were focused on during our Christmas holiday. If we weren’t eating, talking, or chilling during the week of Christmas, we were playing ping pong or watching a match.

I’ve never played ping pong in my life that I can remember; I am a total novice. Recently, I started taking tennis lessons, but tennis is a different sport and, while ping pong and tennis are similar, they just aren’t the same. As I said, I was a noob.

My hubby, my father-in-law, and my brother-in-law had practiced during our summer vacation because the hotels we stayed in had ping pong tables. I hiked and snorkeled. While their games were fiercely competitive and laced with male energy, mine was more exploring, experimenting, and just trying to do my best.

So coming into these games with various family members, I was looking like a baby—just having fun and returning what balls I could. My volleys weren’t long for sure. For me, it was more about having a good time with my family while we celebrated Christmas together.

I was all nonchalant about my game until I got paired up with my hubby for a match. Then it was time to up my game and give him a run for his money. I’m proud to say that after the game, you might have thought that I was something of a ping pong shark, feigning lack of skill until the money was down on the table and then pulling out my mad expert skills. (Maybe that’s the ego-inflated version.)

My skills were temporary and completely mentally driven, though. My thinking brain convinced my body that it could play a mean game of ping pong, and so it did.

Just like in the books I was reading, just like in others I’ve read before, I played out my game with my hubby in my head. I imagined I knew what I was doing. I let my understanding of hitting the ball soft or hard and holding the paddle at different angles to hit the ball in different directions on the table tell my body what to do. I ended up running my husband ragged on his side of the table while I handled the balls he hit to me more easily than I expected. He beat me, but not by much. Our games were exciting!

It was fun for me to put what I was learning into practice—maybe more fun than seeing my husband work for his wins!

So, why the increased ability to play ping pong, or the spike in my skill level? As I said, it was my thinking mind or intentions believing that I could and intellectualizing the game, then trusting my body to be able to do what my mind envisioned. Maybe I should have gone as far as imagining that I won, but I was happy with doing as well as I did.

In Joe Dispenza’s book, he looks at the study that measured muscle strength increases in people who only imagine doing exercises, or comparisons in improvement and muscle function after a person merely practices a piano exercise in his or her mind. It’s scientifically sound research with a control group, a group that practices the exercises in real life, and then the experimental group. It shows circa 10-15% improvement in those who only think about flexing muscles. The piano playing group also has a high percentage of practice related muscle and skill changes—I forget the actual percentage.

Ultimately, it made me even more aware of the fact that I could use my mind to surprisingly improve my life (skills, comprehension, ability to do things I normally couldn’t do). I’ll keep experimenting with neurohacking life and pushing the proverbial envelope further and further to see what I am capable of doing.

I hope you do the same.

]]>http://sueellissaller.com/2019/01/the-ping-pong-match-a-study-in-neurohacking/feed/05885Gratitude For 2018http://sueellissaller.com/2018/12/gratitude-for-2018/
http://sueellissaller.com/2018/12/gratitude-for-2018/#respondSat, 29 Dec 2018 13:57:11 +0000http://sueellissaller.com/?p=5866Don’t forget to be thankful for what you have now before you make your big plans for there and then. Your power is in this moment. Be grateful for it.

It’s easy to stand at the gates of the New Year with your focus on what’s coming instead of what you’ve been through. Especially, for many of us, after 2018.

It was one heck of a year, that’s for sure. With all of the energy of the Kavanaugh thing bringing up repressed, stuffed down, frantic and wounded energy (#metoo), to the instability of the very foundations of what we’ve taken for granted in terms of economic and political… peace.

This year threw me off center and forced me to examine how my actions and habits have taken me somewhere I don’t want to be—but I know that and I am making changes. Those changes will be more obvious in the coming year. For now, I’ll return to my center and work from there.

And right now, I want to sit in gratitude in the moment I am in. 11:05 am on Saturday, the 29th of December, 2018. I have a LOT to be thankful for.

This list is not at all complete. In fact, it’s quite simple. But it is an acknowledgment to the Universe of the things in life that I truly value, the things that make me smile, the things that I am glad I learned.

I encourage you to sit in the moment and make your own Gratitude List for 2018 before rushing off into 2019. As you know, the power is in NOW, not the future; always remember that.

So, what am I grateful for?

1) My little family. The one in my house and my daughter who is on her own now. These four human souls and two doggie souls are the core of my existence. They are my reason. They teach me so much about love, acceptance, patience, redemption, and evolution. They enrich my life and I am thankful for them.

2) Me (with a capital M). I am grateful for myself, the life I have been given, the journey and the mission. I am grateful for my body—that I can move freely, that I am healthy, that I am curious and bright. I love who I am, who I am becoming. I have to remember to honor myself more and really CENTER in myself because that’s where the magic is. It’s in me. In my energy and my life.

3) Friends & Extended Family. There are too many to name or call out individually. I have been gifted a cast of wonderfully delightful, soulful, honest, divine souls to share my time with. I am grateful for each and every one of you and hope that we have more time to spend together in the future. (P.S. Florida, February 2020).

4) Spirit & Magic. This one is HUGE for me. I am grateful for all that I’ve learned, where it has taken me, and the wonders it’s opened up for me. Every day is a profound experience. I’m thankful that the Universe has nudged me to pay attention to the little things, the messages it sends, and the directions it gives.

5) Stability. Another huge one. Seriously. We have a home that we’ve lived in for the past 12 years. We have food. I can usually pay my bills without issues. That stability gives me the space to explore my world a little more. The kite that is my Spirit is firmly anchored to the ground. I don’t have to worry (so much) about the ground beneath my feet crumbling.

6) Learning experiences. This year, I didn’t honor my time and energy as much as I should have, and it resulted in me being overwhelmed. I’m actually grateful for coming to a full stop because it really made me look at and evaluate my life and the decisions I was making. I had to come back into my center and I also learned that I had to honor my worth or no one else would—and that was a blessing.

I’m going to leave it at that. I could write about how thankful I am for the sun shining, for the trips we took, for belly laughs, for art, for sensuality and even orgasms. But I’d like to move on with my day. My boys are laughing and playing and I want to enjoy the life that is going on around me.

I hope that you can find a moment to be grateful for what happened in 2018 before you slide into 2019. As they say in Austria, Guten Rutsch!

Sorry, but I’m not sorry. I simply don’t have the energy for lopsided relationships and full on requests to “take this burden for me so I don’t have to carry it.” I don’t have time for “just this little thing for free”; or give an inch, take a mile semi-expectations. I don’t want to reschedule sessions that you missed and didn’t even bother to call and cancel. If I was there and you weren’t, I’ve fulfilled my end of the bargain.

It sounds harsh, but seriously… If you want my energy, there has to be some sort of exchange and the exchange should be fair.|

I’m done with taking pennies on the dollar for the work I do. I’m not going to discount my prices so low that I can’t actually pay for my phone, computer, space rental (if you’re meeting me in Vienna), gas, parking, and childcare. I don’t want to stretch myself to the limits so you can remain comfy. Sorry. No can do.

I have a family and a business. I have limited time and energy, and I’m not at all interested in endlessly giving my resources to people who don’t really seem to appreciate them. I need that energy for my children, my home, my hubby, my projects and passions. It may seem like my energy is boundless and infinite, but it has a definite end line which I am not interested in hitting. I’ve been dangerously close to that in the past.

If I have to get a job outside of my home to support the work I’m doing for you, then I’m going to have to say no to you and get that job.

It feels so hard to say no, though. Our society has pushed this idea of self-sacrifice and give til it hurts until we are… giving til it hurts. Some of my *ahem* business relationships (read volunteering my time and energy to fill someone else’s void without being paid very much, if at all) are having a negative impact not only on my own time and energy but also on my marriage and my children.

My husband is not so understanding about why I might donate working hours to a virtual stranger and then not have time to do my mom or wife stuff—let alone to develop my OWN business or write my own book. My kids have sat, iPads in hand, while I’ve taken care of somebody else’s work for them. My hubby scrolled while I fretted over someone else’s work. Was I getting paid for my time, I’d have the money to hire a house cleaner or get a massage from time to time, or even pay a VA so that I could offload some of my own tasks. I’d have enough money to take some time off to spend with my kids and my man.

This is something that, as spiritual and sensitive entrepreneurs, we have to learn to avoid and overcome. People like us LOVE to give—we love to make people happy and teach them to do things for themselves. We have to learn the difference between being generous and being enablers. We have to learn the difference between being honored and being taken advantage of.

And as entrepreneurs, businesspeople, we have to understand that we just can’t give all of our time to others without being compensated for it. By “compensated for it,” I mean getting paid cash money. Money might not make the world go round, but it does help me honor my time and energy and the time and energy of others I interact with. It helps me put food on my table and gas in my car.

My kids go to tennis two times a week. Their tennis trainer is a nice guy, but I’d never think to ask him to give my kids their lessons for free. Or just free until they got good enough to, you know, win some money in tournaments so that we could pay him to continue working for us!

And I also go to healers and massage therapists from time to time. I’ve recently started seeing a woman who does pulsing in Vienna. When I go to her, I pay her for her time, her knowledge, and the resources (both internal and external) she’s using to work with me.

The best lesson I can give a budding spiritual entrepreneur is to give the expectation of actually being paid for the time, wisdom, skill, effort, and the resources that person uses to serve me. I can lead by example. I give the people who work for me a baseline standard: their time is valuable and worthy of being paid a fair price. I expect the same in return.

And note I said PRICE—not exchange, not trade. Far too often, budding entrepreneurs, as I mentioned above, are sucked into lopsided trades that don’t fully value their time, energy, efforts, resources, or even financial expenditures. I refuse to do that any more.

The value placed on my time and energy is set by me. It’s my job to honor myself and say no to any business or charity relationship that doesn’t value what I put into the relationship. It might be hard, but being stretched to the point of breaking or actually getting another job to support myself so that I can work for other people is just not something that I am willing to do anymore. Ain’t nobody got time for that. Thanks but no thanks.

*Please note that this doesn’t apply to my dearest friends and family.

Why specifically 108 Blog Post Ideas for Tarot Bloggers? The number is fodder for a different post! For now, though, I want you to know that even the most prolific writer gets a bout of writer’s block from time to time—so don’t get upset with yourself if you sit down in front of your computer and come up with… ummm…. hmmmm… what should I write about today? It’s totally normal.

These writing prompts can get your creative juices flowing so that you can publish a blog post every week of the year (or more!). I’m going to give you 108 tarot themed writing prompts and blog post ideas for you to use! You can use this to plan out 2 YEARS of content for your tarot themed blog if you so desire…

Writing Prompts for Tarot Readers and Bloggers

1-78) The Tarot Cards, themselves. You can give keywords for the cards or treat each card as if it was not only the first time you’ve seen it but also the 4,000th time.

Don’t forget that you can get back to writing about the absolute basics in your blog.

79) Cards that stick out. For example, the Mary El tarot has a very interesting version of the 4 of Swords that is a bit different than a standard Rider-Waite visual. Pick out those cards that stick out to you and write about how they broadened your understanding of tarot or of a reading.

80) Your favorite deck type. Are you a fan of Rider-Waite, Thoth, or Tarot de Marseille? Write about your favorite deck type and why you love it.

81) Your favorite deck. What is your favorite deck and why? Choose a couple of cards to highlight your why.

82) Your least favorite deck. Did you get a deck you just can’t connect with or one that the artwork turns you off of? Tell your audience about it! Bonus: Auction it off on Instagram or Facebook.

83) How you “got it”. There are some cards and combinations that are difficult for people to understand. For example, many people have issues with the court cards. If you have a great system you used to gain clarity or insight when reading, share it.

84) Rituals. Do you have any distinct rituals you use for connecting with your deck, cleansing it, reading preparation, ending a reading, moon cycles, holidays and high celebrations? You might be able to plan a blog post for your overall reading ritual and then one for the different times of the year.

85) Deck reviews. You can do this with old decks that have been in your collection since the dawn of time or the latest greatest decks on the market.

86) The story of your introduction to tarot. What was your first reading like? Did you have any childhood or teenage experiences that led you to pursue working with tarot?

87) Lore and myth. Explore different “old wives’ tales” and myths about tarot, like reading for yourself, being gifted your first (and subsequent) deck(s), “tarot is evil,” etc.

88) Special spreads. Do you love to create spreads or do you have a twist on the interpretations in classic spreads? Or you can go totally old school and explain commonly used spreads.

This is my go-to spread for general readings:

89) Daily draws. I have to admit that daily draws are my least favorite of the bunch unless they have something spectacular included in them.

90) Talk about other tarot readers you admire. There are so many fabulous tarot readers and authors, artists and icons out there. Pick one you admire and explore that person’s world and work, explaining why you like it.

91) Tarot + spirituality. Some readers read tarot solely and don’t have a spiritual practice as a foundation. For others, tarot is one tool in a toolbox of different practices and modalities.

92) Tarot + psychology. There are those in the tarot community who are counselors, psychologists, and therapists. If you are someone with a more academic background, share how that background influences your work with tarot and interaction with clients. Perhaps even give some advice, guidance, or resources for newbie pro readers who need to refer a client to a more psychologically based reader or to a therapist.

93) I’d never… Create a list of 10 things that you’d never do when reading tarot or that you’d try to avoid at all costs.

94) Your favorite tarot books. This is great for a “Top 3, Top 5, or Top 10” list.

95) Your reading style. I’m off the hip, honest, and a bit pragmatic when it comes to tarot readings. My style brings a lot of life coaching into the mix, along with any channeled messages I receive. I don’t sugarcoat, but I have tact. Some people have a different style: more academic, a touch of Kabbalah, gentle messages, full-on intuitive… every single one of us has a different way of reading and communicating the messages we receive. Talk about yours.

96) Conferences and conventions you’ve gone to or would like to go to. Usually, one convention can lead to quite a few posts, if you consider lead up excitement, being at the convention, who you meet, what you learn, what swag you buy or get for free…

97) Symbolism. Tarot is practically filled to the brim with symbolism, aside from the Elemental roots of the Minor Arcana. Talk about important symbols in tarot and what they mean to you.

98) Your own Fool’s Journey. If you feel like you’ve experienced a journey akin to the Fool’s Journey, then talk about the steps you took and what you learned along the way.

99) Major Arcana versus full deck readings. Do you do readings with only the Majors from time to time? If so, what is your experience with working with them as the entire deck?

100) Reading add-ons. Do you ever bring other fortune telling tools into your readings? If so, which and give some advice about how to use them or to pair them with your tarot card reading.

101) Adding decks. Do you have a special way that you add oracle decks, regular playing cards, Lenormand decks, or even multiple tarot decks to a reading? Tell us about it!

102) Reversals. Do you use them? Do you love them or hate them? What do you think?

103) Best questions/worst questions. As we all know, there are ways to phrase a question for tarot and ways to avoid. Go into your ideas about what you recommend and what to avoid.

104) Tarot swag and tats. Do you have (or covet) a really cool tarot poster, mug, or vintage lamp? Tell your readers about it. Got a great tarot tattoo (or have you seen some you’d like)? Share that as well!

105) Your reading space. Do you have a cool space that you use to read tarot for yourself and clients? Show it off! Tell people about the different parts of it, especially if you have something unique.

106) Tarot pets. Do your pets get involved in your readings? I know there are quite a few kitties out there who love to lay smack dab in the middle of a reading. Is your dog or cat a tarot energy lover? Also, people just love animals, so you could talk about your pets in a post.

My doggies make me feel like a real life Chariot driver when I am walking them! I have one old, black, gentle female dog and one rambunctious, energetic, aggressive and “typically male” little white dog. When I walk them both at the same time, I feel like I am in the Chariot card.

107) The Elements. Earth, Fire, Water, Air – what do the Elements symbolize for you and how do you integrate that into your tarot readings?

108) Everything else in your life. Each and every one of us is a unique and interesting person with his or her own experiences and ways of seeing the world. Your life, itself, is something to write about. People will connect with you because of your quirks and oddities, as well as the trials and even the boring stuff you have going on in your life.

These 108 writing prompts for tarot readers should keep you busy writing for a while, or at least help you plan for your next year’s worth of tarot-related blog posts.

Do you have any topics you would add to the list? Feel free to add them to the comments below!

The realization just dawned on me that no one talks about or covers the people who rip off or con tarot readers and psychics. It is a HUGE problem in our community, so much so, in fact, that many of us can’t work with PayPal or other payment collectors. These companies might think there is too much financial risk in working with psychics and tarot readers, not only because of the fakers and scam readers out there but also because of the issues caused by refund seekers and people who demand refunds for services already rendered.

And—perhaps because most of us are solitary practitioners who work alone most of the time or because of privacy and confidentiality restraints—we aren’t really talking to each other about the people who rip us off.

I used to work for a psychic hotline doing administration, quality assurance, customer service, and pretty much all of the background stuff. I saw the seedy people on both sides of the business—both “psychic readers” who were anything but psychic, and also the con artist clients who would rack up hundreds—even thousands—of dollars worth of readings and then request a refund for the whole amount, even after leaving 5-star ratings and communicating about how happy the person was with their readings. I’ve even heard of PayPal reimbursing hundreds of dollars to clients who decided that they “weren’t happy with a reading” and requested a refund, again, after praising the reader. You never see those stories on the news, only the stories of the sham psychics who con hopeful lost souls out of their life’s savings.

The refund requesters aren’t the only people who rip tarot readers and psychics off. There are some people who will call a psychic or initiate a chat, using the site’s free minute promotion—which is totally fine. Some of those people, though, try to dupe the hotline, creating multiple accounts to get more free minutes. They even try to contact the SAME expert to continue the reading where it left off. Many times, the hotlines don’t really even do anything to keep these people from coming back, especially if one of their profiles has spent money on the site.

Then there are those people who ask for an IOU for the reading they desperately need right now but don’t really have the money to pay for. Those IOUs oftentimes sit for weeks, either until the person needs another reading, or the reader just gives up on collecting funds and chucks the amount of time into the “business loss” tax pile (don’t forget to claim those as time lost from services). Oftentimes, these clients start out as OK clients, but then overspend or get addicted to readings (make sure you watch out for this) and then, like those who rack up thousands on a credit card just to file bankruptcy, they turn their backs on the money they owe.

When you are a part of the reading and healing communities on Facebook, it’s common to see the same people regularly requesting free readings. They go from one group to the next, shopping for freebies and hoping to hook someone, anyone, into doing a reading for them. There are also those who play a more subtle game, posting a reading they’ve pulled for themselves—without providing any of their own insights or interpretations—expecting the tarot readers in a group to kindly interpret the meanings of the cards for them, free of charge, of course.

Before I learned my lesson (or as the grounds for the lesson itself), I got conned by a woman who called me requesting a live reading. She found my profile and phone number at Best Psychic Directory. I told her my rates and she said, “Oh yes, bill me to this email address after the reading.” We talked for 2 hours. She never paid me. When I mentioned this person to another tarot reader friend, we compared the email address; she said the woman had done the exact same thing to her.

You know, clients can look up our ratings on the sites we work with or on Yelp!, but we, as readers, aren’t allowed to collect or share data on our clients, even those who are playing games and ripping us off. It isn’t fair, but it is the reality of our work.

Tarot readers, psychics, and healers have to have solid boundaries in place, or readings booked for 30 minutes will extend into 90-minute sessions—but for the 30-minute price, naturally! Even if you remind these people of the time—of course, of course—they want to continue the conversation and make it awkward, if not impossible, to end the session. Then they send emails or chat requests to discuss “just a point”, and get us involved in yet another discussion, requesting more cards be pulled for them.

Honestly, these things happen to professional tarot readers all of the time.

I get requests in my email and Facebook inbox for readings. When I send a response that includes my prices and a link to my calendar, I either get ghosted or chewed out for being such an awful person who won’t share her gift for free! People expect that I will drop everything to honor their request for a free reading, nevermind that I might be doing homework with my son, doing my accounting, or just plain chilling out. These people expect something for nothing, and NOW, plain and simple.

My time is just as valuable as any other person’s time is. And really, requesting a refund for a reading that was given, that you’ve given excellent feedback about—or one that mentions that you have some work to do in your life that you don’t want to face—taking my time and then requesting a refund is stealing from me.

So, how does a professional tarot reader, healer, or psychic guard against being ripped off by one of these con artist “clients”?

1) Require an appointment. This is one way to eliminate spending time on a call or chat that doesn’t pay—and it also sets up good boundaries for potential clients to honor your time. If you have the time and desire to cater to your client at the moment, that’s great! But make sure you get paid before you start the session.

2) Collect payment in advance. (Internet only) I don’t get my cards out for a spur of the moment telephone or chat client until that person has paid the bill in full unless it is from a trusted client—unfortunately, as I mentioned, I learned this the hard way. You can send an invoice instantly through PayPal, and Facebook even allows you to bill via PayPal or bank transfer (in the US). The client can hold the line while payment is processing. In person clients, however, can pay at the end of a session.

3) One person, one freebie from you. It might be hard, but you might want to keep a running list of the people you’ve done free readings for. Aside from a birthday reading special, a prize, or a bonus, you shouldn’t give one person multiple free readings (unless you want that person to expect free readings in the future).

4) Having a strict “no refunds” policy in place. This is one that I’m not fully sold on, because people will play “the customer is always right” or go around you, right to a credit card company if they really want to get a refund.

Ultimately, it seems like there are more protections in place for clients than there are for service providers, like tarot readers, which is a shame. Most of us come to the table with a HUGE dose of empathy and skill, keeping the client’s highest good in mind. Most of us are also extremely generous and have given tons of free readings while we were working on honing our crafts and growing our businesses. Of course, a reading will be off from time to time, and I am one who totally ends a session right then and there if the energy is off, and I do refund the cost in those cases (we can tell in the first 5 minutes).

As a professional tarot reader, you will have to keep firm boundaries in place about your time and payment structure. Hopefully, you can use some of the recommendations I’ve made to avoid getting ripped off or conned by a client. While we read plenty of articles about psychics and tarot readers who take advantage of their clients, we never hear about the other side of this, and it’s time that we tarot readers and healers start talking about this topic so that we can all avoid being taken advantage of in the future.

Are you a professional tarot reader? Have you had to deal with being ripped off by a client? What did you do about it?

This morning after I dropped my son off at school, I was driving home thinking about writing a blog post about softening into the spirit world. I took a brief moment to tune in, and BOOM — I got a little bit more than I bargained for from the Spirit World! Luckily, I didn’t swerve off the road or get hit by another car while I was open, but I did get so much information pouring in that I had to shut er down until I got home.

Note to self: Do not even think about connecting with the Spirit World while driving.

The area I live in —Carnuntum—has been a busy place since even before the Roman Empire (a.k.a. before Christ). It’s not so far from the Danube, and the area has rich, fertile ground and plenty of wildlife, like deer, rabbits, quail, even wild boars, that would have made it a great location to live in, even in the very old times. We have Roman Ruins, like the city door and a colosseum, old hunting “lodges”, and castles scattered around the area. The area has seen its share of normal days and wartime troop movement —likely even battles— as it is on the edge of what was once Austro-Hungary and was invaded by the Romans and the Turks in earlier times. Countless generations have lived and died here.

So, when I softened my energy with the intention of getting a brief look into the Spirit World, I got that feeling in my stomach similar to going down a loooong drop on a roller coaster—and I saw many, many spirit forms in my peripheral vision. It was way more intense than I had thought it would be, obviously, or I wouldn’t have done it while I was driving, for Pete’s sake!

Right now, too, it’s the time of the year when the veil between the Spirit World and the Real World is thin anyway. So, for those of us who are regularly interacting with the Spirit World, it makes our communication with the Other Side go a bit more smoothly and easily.

But really, I wasn’t prepared for just how easily I’d connect! I normally don’t see all that much; I am more Claircognizant and Clairaudient than Clairvoyant, so today’s visions were a little different than how I generally receive information. I’m looking forward to exploring Clairvoyance much more, as I was always keen to see, but I’ve always blocked it because… well, because I was scared of what I might see, quite honestly. When I do experiment, I am going to make sure that I am in a safe location —not driving—and that I call in my protectors, like my Spirit Team and Archangel Michael, to be gatekeepers for me.

How do you connect with the Spirit World?

First of all, if you want to start working on connecting with the Spirit World, make sure that you are in a safe place. You might set yourself up in a quiet, comfy corner of your house. Make sure that you aren’t rushed, so that you can feel very open and in control.

Set the intention of connecting with your clair or extrasensory gifts.

Call on your ancestors and/or on Archangel Michael to protect you while you practice connecting with the Spirit World.

Close your eyes or keep them open just a tiny bit.

Start focusing on your breath. Inhale for a slow count of 6. Exhale for a slow count of 8. Allow yourself to concentrate on your breath, while you soften your perception of the world around you.

Start noticing any messages that you get. Sometimes, it will seem like people are talking to you or that you get thought streams from a different entity. Other times, especially if your eyes are partially open, you’ll start to see shadows and wisps or energies of beings from the Spirit World.

Ask a question that is important to you and see what images, impressions, or advice you get.

When finished, consciously close your session, thanking the Spirit World for interacting with you.

Focus on breathing and coming up and out of your connection with the Spirit World.

Journal about your experience and any messages that you received while you were connected to the Spirit World.

You can practice connecting with the Spirit World as often as you would like. The more you work with your Guides and the more you practice picking up on any subtle (or not so subtle) energies around you, the better you’ll get.

Please feel free to comment about your experience with connecting with the Spirit World!

Get other fascinating information from Sue Ellis-Saller

]]>http://sueellissaller.com/2018/10/how-to-connect-with-the-spirit-world/feed/05758This Week’s Choose A Card Tarot Readinghttp://sueellissaller.com/2018/10/this-weeks-choose-a-card-tarot-reading/
http://sueellissaller.com/2018/10/this-weeks-choose-a-card-tarot-reading/#respondMon, 22 Oct 2018 20:08:02 +0000http://sueellissaller.com/?p=5752Ready to see what’s in store for you for the week of October 22, 2018?

Choose a tarot card – 1, 2, or 3, and then watch the video to see what your tarot message for the week is.

Card 1 is the King of Swords. This can relate to a mature man who is intellectually and analytically driven. He might not be all about the heart, but he is someone you can rely on for good advice, especially if you need legal or medical advice. The King of Swords can also represent a situation in which you need to own your expertise and come to the table prepared, or look at things from the highest analytical perspective.

Card 2 is the Nine of Pentacles reversed. It looks like you might have given up your independence or “grounding” in the world. The term, sold out, came to mind when I was reading the cards. Things might not be so great this week in terms of feeling financially secure and able to spend money on the little luxuries in life. Hunker down and save for a rainy day.

Card 3 is Justice. This is a great omen if you have some sort of legal battle ahead of you this week. It also encourages you to look at things from a fair perspective, taking everyone’s needs into consideration and keeping balance in mind as a key theme.

I hope that this reading fits for you and helps you get through the week! Join us again next week for our weekly tarot card pick!